With the loop around Houston, there is no good direction to come from or go to. For some reason, people always seem to end up living on the opposite side of the town from their workplace.

I10 is as good as any. It will be worst from about 6:30 – 9:00am, but is not that bad. And if you follow the signs, it’s not that big a deal to be in the proper lanes. I will say that as you approach downtown Houston, you DO need to pay attention to the signs, as many of the lanes veer off to go into downtown, or ramp to another freeway. Just pay attention, and it’s no problem. If you approach Houston from 6:30AM – 8AM, then just stay on I10. The traffic isn’t bad coming from the East to downtown and once through, you’re going against traffic.

If you approach Houston from 4:30PM to 6PM, then take the 610 Loop North and go around. Traffic outbound to the West is killer.

That being said, a loop around Houston, 610 or the Tollway, are miles longer, and far out of the way. And often they are just as jammed as I-10. You will not save much time if any. If you were going to a destination IN Houston, taking a loop may save a few minutes. But when one is passing thru, there is no way they are quicker maybe just “slightly” less congested.

Finally, knowing Houston, you will probably hit construction somewhere en-route so be prepared to have your lanes reduced and traffic snarled.

I watched I10 this morning on my Ipad. Not perfect of course in reporting traffic. Anyway, before 7:00 it look ok. I think I am going to cross my fingers and plan to leave no later than 6:30am. As long as there are not accidents I think it will be ok. As long as we are moving 40mph+ for the 10–15 miles into the city center I will be satisfied.